'The Flash' Season 3, Episode 3: All's Well That Ends 'Wells'

I'll clue you in on the good, the bad, and the ugly of sci fi, horror, fantasy and anything else that catches my bloodshot eyes

Season 3 of The Flash started with the whole Barry-induced Flashpoint mess, but they are slowly digging out of it, taking a huge step forward this week by bringing Harry Wells and his daughter Jesse, back into the timeline. Wells has been sadly missing, and his presence brings the energy of the show back to its Season 1 level. Wells and Jesse open a breach and re-enter the gang's version of Earth because Wells wants Jesse's speedster abilities checked out by Caitlin in the newfangled "Speed Lab."

Welcome To Wally World

courtesy CW

The whole "Jesse and Wally getting their powers from the particle accelerator explosion" thingy was broached for the first time in this reality, and Wally was bummed, as usual. He has no active powers in the Flashpoint timeline, and it kinda made him feel like this:

Let's face it: Wally has wanted to be a superhero from the jump, in EVERY timeline, and has been a real brat about it. He even tried to jump in front of a speeding car to activate his powers, only to have Jesse save him at the last second. Since Dr. Alchemy has been restoring powers to people in this timeline, I think it's only a matter of time before Wally goes dark and makes a deal with the devil to become Kid Flash.

The Birth Of Jesse Quick

courtesy CW

Wells, being the overprotective Dad that he is, wants Jesse to have no part the whole superhero thing. Jesse has other ideas, of course. They butt heads throughout the episode, but in the end, the love for his daughter enables Wells to finally let go and allow her to pursue her destiny.

Meet Magenta: The Meta Of The Week

courtesy CW

This week's low level baddie is a sad little orphan named Frankie who suffers not only from mental illness, but an abusive stepdad who beats her. She seeks out Dr. Alchemy so that he can restore the powers to the evil side of her mind, called Magenta. She attempts to kill Father of the Year with a light pole (she can control metal, you see), but only succeeds in putting him in the hospital. Joe interrogates Frankie at the po-po station, and it is there that the evil Magenta personality comes out. She tries to kill the dick-ish Julian Albert by dropping a huge metal wall on him, but The Flash saves the day.

Magenta has a couple of go-rounds with Barry, but he senses that she isn't right in the ol' noggin and tries to help her. The final battle happens at the hospital, where Magenta tries to kill Daddy Dearest by dropping a frikkin' boat on the hospital — Poseidon Adventure style! Don't believe me? See for yourself:

As you saw, Wells unleashes Jesse Quick to help Barry neutralize Magenta. Barry finally reaches the good side of Frankie, and the day is saved.

This meta human of the week deal is getting kinda stale for me. It's time for Dr. Alchemy to step up his game if he's really going to be this season's Big Bad. The lack of a compelling villain is hampering Season 3 so far IMO. Maybe Dr. Alchemy will change Caitlin to Killer Frost and Cisco to Reverb, which would bring a real Captain America: Civil War feel to the show — now THAT would be fun!

Barry And Iris: Date-us Interruptus

The B-side of the episode concerns the long simmering Barry/Iris romance. It's finally on the front burner, but their first date is a disaster. Barry greeted Iris with a huge heart-shaped flower arrangement like she was a Kentucky Derby winner, and then instantly changed it to a big "Iris" sign all in flowers like a Rose Parade float! They have an incredibly awkward exchange in a fancy restaurant before Barry is called away on Flash business. At the end of the episode, Barry realizes that they need to just be themselves because they can't escape this crazy life they lead. Check out date part deux:

OK, he had to leave — I get that, but can't he at least take her home on his way to the station? Not very gentlemanly, Barry.

On the whole, this episode was better than the first two this season. The Magenta part left me bored, but we got Wells back, which is huge. And the Barry/Iris thing is progressing, so that's good. All in all, Season 3 has some work to do, but it is improving.

Flash Judgement

OK, the Wells "Not" jokes were pretty bad: check that, AWFULLY BAD. Memo to Wells: it's not the '90s on this Earth anymore! If you want to do the perfect "Not" joke, then learn from the master: Borat.

Did you like this week's episode of The Flash? What's your favorite "not" joke? Sound off in the comments section.